Hotel industry and travel news from around the Europe, Middle East & African region: London almost ready to Rock, two new Marriotts for Amsterdam, Aloft debuts in Saudi Arabia and more...
AXA Sells Pullman Barcelona Skipper
AXA Investment Managers " Real Assets has sold the Pullman Barcelona Skipper in the Catalan capital, Spain, to a Luxembourg fund. The 241-room hotel overlooks the Mediterranean and the beach at Olympic Harbour marina. AXA has owned the hotel since 2009, when it purchased the property on behalf of one of its managed funds. “On acquiring this asset we had a clear value-creation strategy in place and it is with great satisfaction to now see this executed," said Anne Kavanagh, global head of asset management and transactions at AXA IM " Real Assets.
AccorHotels Finalises its Purchase of FRHI Holdings
AccorHotels has been given permission by its shareholders to finalise the French group’s acquisition of FRHI Holdings Ltd, the parent company of the luxury Fairmont, Raffles andSwissôtel brands. The FRHI portfolio includes 155 hotels and resorts in operation or under development in 34 countries, and AccorHotels paid for its purchase with a cash payment of €768 million and the issueing of 46.7 million new Accor shares. The deal, which was signed at the end of last year, will result in the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Saudi Arabian Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) becoming major shareholders in AccorHotels with representatives on the group's board of directors. “With the support of QIA and KHC as well as the active involvement of their representatives in the work of the board of directors, we are ideally placed to keep on implementing our ambitious and value-creating strategy,” commented Sébastien Bazin, AccorHotel’s chairman and chief executive officer.
New Owner for the Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf
European hotel fund Primotel Europe and hotel investor and operator Algonquin have acquired the Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf in western Germany for an undisclosed sum from a German-based joint venture comprising institutional and private investors. The 19-storey, 303-room hotel, which opened in December 2010, is located in the city's trendy Media Harbour area.
Athlone Radisson Blu Sold
Irish investment group iNua Hospitality has purchased the 128-room Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, on the banks of the River Shannon in Ireland’s Midlands Region, out of receivership for a sum reported to be between €9 million and €10 million. iNua also owns two other Radisson Blu properties in Ireland and now has a portfolio of five hotels overall. iNua's chief executive officer,Noel Creedon, commented that "The Radisson Athlone is an ideal complement to our two existing Radisson properties in Cork and Limerick and will enable us to drive better efficiencies, service levels and profitability in conjunction with our operating partner Rezidor”.
New Holiday Inn Development Deal for Union Investment
Union Investment has acquired a Holiday Inn development in Hamburg from TAS Group for an undisclosed sum, its second forward purchase of a Holiday Inn development in the north German city within a month. The group’s latest purchase is the 300-room, 18-storey Holiday Inn Hotel City Nord. The ownership transfer is expected to take place during the second quarter of 2017 and the 13,500 m² hotel will be leased and operated by Realotel Hamburg Betriebs GmbHunder a franchise agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group.
Hilton's New DoubleTree Takes a Bite Out of Sighisoara
Hilton Worldwide has opened its first property in the central Romanian city of Sighisoara, in the country’s historic region of Transylvania. The DoubleTree by Hilton Sighisoara " Cavaler is within walking distance of the medieval city’s main attractions, which include Vlad Dracula’s house. The 74-room hotel is now the third DoubleTree by Hilton in operation in Romania and the sixth Hilton hotel in the country overall.
Portugal's Pine Cliffs Resort Reaches New Heights of Luxury
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has reopened the Pine Cliffs Hotel, a Luxury Collection Resort on the Algarve in Portugal, following an extensive 18-month US$57 million refurbishment. The property is owned by Union Investments Portugal and its makeover is part of a multimillion dollar investment by Starwood and the hotels' owners to restore its most iconic Luxury Collection properties across the globe. The work at Pine Cliffs encompassed the full renovation of the hotel’s 2017 guest rooms and the addition of a 10,000 ft² state-of-the-art destination spa, amongst other projects.
Generator Opens in Stockholm
Hostel group Generator has made its first appearance in the Swedish market with the opening of a property in Stockholm. The 11-storey, 233-room (796-bed) Generator Stockholm is adjacent to the city’s Norra Bantorget Square. “The combination of affordable accommodation, innovative design and vibrant social spaces is something that there is just not enough of in Stockholm and it will be a pleasure to lead our talented team to further success Generator,” said the hostel’s general manager, Alexander Bhatt. Generator now has a presence in 11 European cities.
MEININGER to Open in Leipzig
Hybrid hostel/hotel chain MEININGER Hotels is to open its first hotel in the German city of Leipzig at the beginning of 2017. The former ibis Leipzig City in the city centre is to be converted into an eight-story, 126-room (404-bed) MEININGER Hotel following a refurbishment of the 4,102 m² building. MEININGER currently operates 16 hotels across ten European cities, and once the Leipzig hotel is in operation it will have a presence in five German locations.
Radisson Blu Convenes in Kigali
Carlson Rezidor has opened its first Radisson Blu property in Rwanda, East Africa, and its second hotel in the country overall. The Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Center in the capital, Kigali, comprises the 293-room Radisson Blu hotel and adjacent extensive conference space (a net floor area of 32,200 m²) for up to 5,000 people. The development, which is owned by UCL (a joint venture co-owned by the Rwandan government through the Rwanda Social Security Board andPrime Holdings Ltd as well as private investors, including Crystal Ventures Ltd and Rwanda Investment Group) also contains several food and berage outlets, 650 parking spaces, a fitness centre, an outdoor swimming pool, retail outlets and an Amani spa. The group's latest opening in Rwanda joins the 161-room Park Inn by Radisson Kigali.
Four Points by Sheraton to Make its Debut in Tanzania
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has signed two agreements that will see the group introduce its Four Points by Sheraton brand to Tanzania, East Africa. The Arusha Hotel, which is owned byUnion Trust Ltd, will be rebranded as the 108-room Four Points by Sheraton Arusha following the completion of a renovation. The hotel, which dates from 1894 is set within three acres of gardens in the city of Arusha, which is nestled at base of Mount Meru. The Four Points by Sheraton Dar es Salaam will also be the result of a conversion from an existing property. This 126-room hotel, owned by New African Hotel Ltd, is in the Tanzanian capital’s business district.
A Second Four Seasons Announced for the Seychelles
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has signed an agreement with Desroches Island Developments Ltd to manage the only resort property on the island of Desroches in the Seychelles. An existing property will undergo an extensive renovation and will reopen in late 2017 as the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island, with 40 beach suites and 11 private residences. The resort on Desroches, one of the Seychelles outer islands, will be the second Four Seasons property in the archipelago, off the coast of East Africa, joining the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles in Mahé.
More Choice of Clarions in Turkey
US-based Choice hotels International has opened three new Clarion hotels in Turkey, increasing the brand’s portfolio in the country to four properties. The new-build 185-room Clarion Hotel Golden Horn and the 237-room Clarion Hotel Istanbul Mahmutbey are both in Istanbul in the city’s Beyoglu and Bagcilar districts, respectively, and the 117-room Clarion Hotel Kahramanmaraþ marks Choice's first appearance in the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaraþ. The trio join the Clarion Hotel & Suites Istanbul Sisli, which opened in 2014 with 134 rooms.
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